Judas Kiss
by Normryl
Summary: Complete. Sometimes the people you trust the most are the ones that betray you. Post series 5.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Judas Kiss

Author: Therm

Copyright: 2005

Disclaimer: I do not own any character's in this story, with the exception of Jessica Stein and Gabrielle.

Warnings: Het sex (consensual) Mild angst, a swear word or two, minor character death(s). Some mental illness. Murder.

Summary: Set after season five. Sometimes the people you trust the most are the ones that betray you.

Notes: References to the episodes 'Without Reservations' and 'Family Reunion'.

**Judas Kiss**

'Judas, must you betray me with a kiss?'

I

Face looked his reflection in the mirror once again and adjusted his tie, making sure that it was perfectly straight.

He knew he was preening over his appearance, but this wasn't just any date. This one was important to him.

He hadn't dated much since the team had moved to Langley, which was refreshing in a way, he'd enjoyed a little time with the team and after the year they'd had, he felt he needed to relax for a little while.

Face was more determined than ever to impress this lady. He'd had a lot of time to think recently, especially after being shot and having to recuperate from that, but what he'd been thinking of was his relationship with women.

To be honest, it wasn't good. Sure, he'd had a lot of good times with a lot of ladies, but where would he be in five years from now? Still single and scamming any women who came his way? Maybe, but he didn't want to end up like that.

He'd spent so many years ripping of guys whose lifestyle he wanted, he decided it was time that he took Templeton Peck along instead of some phony guy he'd made up to sound impressive.

Taking one final glance in the mirror and brushing away imaginary dust from the jacket he wore, he stepped out of his room and made his way into the lounge.

Hannibal was the first to notice him from where he sat. He gave Face a full look, scrutinizing him carefully. "Nice." He said, returning to the paper in his hands. Face knew Hannibal had read that paper from cover to cover this morning.

"Thanks, Hannibal." Face replied with a confident smile.

BA and Frankie, having missed Face's entrance, both turned round to see the young lieutenant standing there.

"Ah, another date with that hot chick, huh?" Frankie stated.

Face smiled a little wearily at Frankie, sometimes all this guy though about was sex. "Yeah, although she does prefer Jessica."

"Well, you must be going somewhere fancy, your dressed to impress." Frankie continued.

"Frankie, I _always_ dress to impress. And, we do have a table booked at that new French Restaurants." Face corrected. He may not make much of an effort when he was hanging out with the guys, but Jess certainly wasn't one of the guys. "Well, I best be going. I have reservations at eight." Face said, ready to leave.

"At eight?" Hannibal queried, suddenly interested again. "You're never gonna make it in time to pick up Murdock and get to Escargot on time."

"OK, firstly, it's not called Escargot, it's called Par Excellence, and secondly, I'm not going to be late because I don't have to pick up Murdock."

"How come? He's not got no transport" BA interrupted. He knew Murdock had a car, but after a few difficulties with it, had sold it and hadn't got round to getting a new one yet. BA was looking forward to when Murdock did get the car, as he'd promised him he'd tune it up for him, make it perfect so he's friend had no trouble with it.

"Yeah I know. He had something come up, so it's just me and Jess." Face had hoped to avoid telling the others that and didn't meet any of their eyes while he said it. "But hey, no big deal. I get to spend more time alone with Jess, not exactly a bad thing." He looked down at his watch. "Look, I have to go, otherwise I really will be late. You guys have fun."

Hannibal watched as Face left the house. He'd seen the brief flicker of pain and anger that Face had displayed, before he expertly masked it with his none-fussed acceptance of the situation.

It didn't fool him for a moment.

There had been a generally high level of tension between Face and Murdock since the AJ Bancroft incident. Murdock had told Hannibal about that. He'd told him the whole story and although Murdock had insisted that they had worked things out themselves, things weren't like the used to be.

Murdock wouldn't have dared to tell Hannibal about it if the two men hadn't found some level of acceptance because they all knew how strict Hannibal was when it came to team relationships.

Hannibal could tell that Murdock felt guilty still and Face had been in a private struggle between wanting to keep his friendship with Murdock and wanting to have known that man was his father.

In a way, Hannibal could understand Face's anger. He knew that it was something that he'd always wanted, to know his parents.

Maybe for Face, having that chance to just ask why he was left by him may have helped to ease some of his insecurities, but Hannibal knew that in reality that wouldn't have helped him at all. But Face would never know.

As for Murdock, Hannibal understood why he'd kept the secret from Face. It was because he had made a promise. Whether the man was dying or not, one thing that Murdock wouldn't do was betray someone's trust.

And although he knew that he was keeping a secret from Face, Murdock would never have dreamt in could backfire so badly.

Well, if that wasn't bad enough, Murdock had felt even worse when Face had been shot at the Villa Cucina. As soon as BA had brought that pizza back and Hannibal saw the 'Help' written on it, his heart leapt into his mouth.

It was one thing to get hired to help a civilian, but Hannibal liked to think that the majority of the time when he had his men out and about that they could take care of themselves.

Maybe it was his fault that they couldn't.

Frankie wasn't trained like the rest of the team were and Murdock was damn good a lot of the time, but sometimes it seemed very obvious he wasn't special forces trained like the others were. They'd had training sessions together sure, but Murdock was a difficult person to train in those days. He just couldn't stay focused on that subject for too long. So at first, it would be fun and exciting, even like a competition against the others. But the next day, he would be worn out from the physical excursion and playing with Billy would be much more entertaining.

Letting out a deep sigh, Hannibal returned to the newspaper and continued to read the days news headlines.

For the second time.


	2. Chapter 2

II

Murdock grabbed the frying pan from the stove before the eggs and bacon in it blackened further and turned the heat off. He scrapped the contents out and divided into the two plates he'd prepared earlier.

Grabbing the required cutlery, he made his way to the table where Erica sat.

He laid a plate down in front of her, and moved round to the other side of the table and sat himself down with the other plate.

"I told you not to make me anything." Erica said, not attempting to eat the food.

Murdock had picked up his knife and fork and without even looking at her, he replied, "Gotta eat something."

"When are we gonna talk about this?" she asked, folding her arms in front of her.

Murdock did look up this time. Only briefly before returning to look intently at the table. "Once your plate's clear."

Erica stood up, taking the plate with her and let the greasy food slide off the plate straight into the bin. "It's clear." She said.

She recognised a look of anger in his eyes, but she wasn't scared by it. She hated the fact she'd been the cause of it, but she refused to let him tell her what to do.

Murdock placed the fork in his hand down and used the fingers to try to rub away the headache he could feel coming on. "I think you should just..."

"No! Don't tell me to go. That's all you ever do. When the hell are we gonna talk about this, once I've had the baby? Would that be a good time for you?" She'd felt a twinge of guilt when she'd seen his rubbing his temple, but with his refusal to talk to her, she just forgot that sorrow and let him know how she felt.

"Just go." Murdock said back, loudly. He didn't shout at her, he rarely shouted in anger, but he wanted her to know how much he needed his time right now.

"Fine!" She said, grabbing her jacket and pulling it onto her slim arms. "When you decide to let me into your life, gimme a call!" With that, she stormed out of his apartment and slammed the door behind her.

Murdock closed his eyes as she slammed the door, as though it would block out the noise from the bang of the door.

He'd never really considered how easy his life was in the VA. It was a lot more preferable to how it was now, anyway.

There'd always been something taking the edge of how difficult life was. His childhood wasn't easy, but by no means unpleasant, then he'd gone to Nam which really wasn't easy, but it was a war zone, and it was what you'd expect when being in a war zone. And after Nam, it was all about the VA. So, yeah he'd dealt with a lot in life, but nothing ever mundane.

Nothing like holding a job, paying bills, having a regular girlfriend. It was all kinda new to him and for someone his age, that was a little weird.

But along with the normality of his life now, there was still a big part of it that wasn't quite so normal. He still worked closely with three, well, four now, four fugitives and helped people from incredibly rotten individuals who were trying to ruin their lives in someway. That part of his life was about as crazy as anyones life could get.

The problem he had was how to tell Erica what he was doing when he kept going away every now and then for days at a time, coming back tired and sometimes hurt.

He couldn't exactly tell her he worked with The A Team. Besides, officially he didn't.

He'd spent most part of fifteen years protecting their identity and his alliance with them from everyone. He couldn't stop the secrecy now. Not even for Erica.

But it wasn't as simple as that. She's told him a few days ago that she thought she was pregnant, and then two days ago she'd confirmed it.

He hadn't been sure about starting a physical relationship with her and now he wished he hadn't. He wasn't even sure if he wanted a child.

Everything was such a mess.

He just needed time to think.

Erica didn't move after she slammed the door.

Part of her had hoped that HM would have followed her, told her not to leave and persuaded her to come back in with him so they could talk things through.

But that was the problem, he just wouldn't open up to her.

She really didn't know anything about him, probably had a string of illegitimate kids scattered all other the place.

No, she knew him. Knew he wasn't like that.

She just didn't know why he was like this.


	3. Chapter 3

III

Face gently touched Jessica's cheek with his hand, her skin soft under his fingertips.

"This is real nice, Temp." she said.

"It really is. I'm sorry you didn't get to meet Murdock but er, I'm sure we'll get together another time."

"Yeah, I was a little disappointed, but this is still nice. Just us. And besides, I wouldn't have felt right inviting you back to my place with your friend and his date sat there."

"Ah, your place?" Face asked, clearly a little taken back.

"Too soon?" She asked, a sly smile on her face.

Face laughed gently, nervously. "No. It'll be ... really good."

"It'll be better than that, baby." She replied.

Face smiled. Maybe the night wouldn't be so bad after all.

Frankie left Hannibal and BA in the lounge as he went to make his daily phone call to his father. At least, it was daily when they weren't on missions.

With the younger man gone, BA made his way to where Hannibal watched the TV with little interest.

Hannibal looked at BA as the black man sat near him, apparently waiting for something.

"You OK, BA?" Hannibal asked, when nothing was forthcoming.

"What's up with Faceman?" he asked simply.

"I dunno." Hannibal answered.

"What about the fool?" BA continued.

A shrug was all he received for that answer.

"Hannibal, you need to get 'em sorted. It ain't gonna be no good if we gotta work a mission with those two how they are."

"I know, it's not as easy as that, BA."

"You can make it that easy, Hannibal. I know Face is hurtin', but he'll listen to you if you tell him the right way. And Murdock don't wanna be feelin' guilty no more. Jus' talk to 'em, before they drive all of us crazy."

With that said, BA stood up and walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

IV

Face hardly had a chance to get into the room and appreciate the decor, before he was pulled roughly by Jess into the bedroom.

She kissed his forcefully, a desperation behind it like she couldn't hold her self back any longer. He met her with the same enthusiasm. He loved the fact that he was himself and she still wanted him.

He hadn't had to use any cheap lines or made up names. He was just Templeton Peck and he worked for the government. It was all true.

She slid her hands into his jacket, pulling it away from the shirt underneath and he let it slip to the floor. He didn't even worry about how crinkled it would get, even though it was Versace.

And as she unbuttoned his shirt, he kept kissing her, roamed down from her mouth, along her jawline and down her neck, the smell of perfume still faintly on her soft skin.

Once she had the shirt on the floor, she started to remove her dress, unzipping it in one quick fluid motion. She removed her arms from the sleeves and let the garment fall to the floor.

She breathed heavily as Face embraced her, licking and kissing his shoulder, moving lovingly from one side to the other. As she licked and kissed her hands worked down his body and found his waistband and made their way along to the button and zip. She soon had the trousers on the floor, with her dress and his jacket and shirt.

Before they could get any more engrossed, she moved to the bed, gently holding Face's hand, but letting go as she climbed on. She sat in the middle of the bed and removed her bra, revealing her breasts to the man before her.

Her hands slid down her body until she reached the thong she had on. Her thumbs slid under the thin elastic as she began to lower them.

Before she had them at her ankles, Face had joined her on the bed, as naked as she now was.


	5. Chapter 5

V

Face happily strolled into his 'home', a bag containing all the ingredients for a wonderful breakfast in his arms.

He was met by five sets of eyes all on him, Hannibal, BA, Frankie, Stockwell and Carla. Oh well, even Stockwell's appearance wouldn't put a dampener on his mood this morning. Not after his night last night.

His smile got a little broader.

"Where have you been, Lieutenant?" Stockwell asked, clearly not amused.

"Well, I was out." Face said, he made eye contact with Hannibal, checked to make sure he wasn't mad at him. He saw the same humour Hannibal often had in his eyes, and decided that screwing with Stockwell wouldn't piss Hannibal off too much.

"You're not supposed to be out of here without letting me know so I can assign an Able to accompany you." Stockwell continued.

Hannibal couldn't help but smirk. He had a pretty good idea what Face had been up to all night and a third person there really would have been a good idea.

"Sorry, it really wasn't that kind of, er, evening." Face said.

Fed up with Face's attitude, Stockwell signalled Carla to give them the file she was holding. She handed it to Hannibal, who after briefly looking at it, handed it over to Face.

"I'm sure you'll agree that for men of your calibre, this is an easy assignment."

"So, why give it to us then?" Hannibal asked.

"There are certain elements that make it appropriate for you and your style, Colonel. The file you have to retrieve will be extremely well guarded and your escape will be tricky. There are enough maps and such that you shall be able to plot out an effective escape route."

"So, what's in the file?" Face asked.

"That's of no concern to you, Lieutenant. You'll have 48 hours once you reach you destination." With that, the General turned and walked towards the door. Before he exited, Murdock entered the room, having been brought down by some Ables who had been sent to retrieve him.

"Ah, Captain, nice that you could make it. Smith can fill you in."

Murdock shot Stockwell a dark look, but said nothing, just made his way inside without another word.

"Hey, Murdock." Frankie greeted, enthusiastically. He got on with Murdock well and felt that he had bonded with him more at first because of their working together to save the others, but now Murdock lived alone and Frankie remained with the team, he was probably the person he felt he knew the least about.

Murdock returned Frankie's greeting with a nod and smile, but didn't say much else. He was in a bad mood and Stockwell's men coming round hadn't helped much.

"What's the mission?" He asked as he approached Hannibal and the others who were studying the file and it's contents.

"Retrieve a file with some top secret information in it." Face said, not looking at Murdock. He was still a little hurt from his snub the other night. He hadn't even got a reason from the pilot.

"You alright, Captain?" Hannibal asked.

Face heard a hint of concern in Hannibal's voice and instantly looked at his friend.

Murdock looked a little surprised, like if there was something amiss with his appearance and he hadn't noticed it. "Yeah, I'm fine." he answered, looking down at the file and ignoring the attention he was receiving.

Face could see a tiredness in Murdock. Not the kind you get from missing a few nights sleep, the type that happens when life's just running you into the ground. He'd seen it in himself and the others before.

Hannibal patted Murdock on the shoulder as he called Frankie and BA to start loading some supplies into the van with him.

Leaving Murdock and Face in the room together alone hadn't been very subtle, but for someone who used the front door approach 99.9 of the time, subtle wasn't one of Hannibal's strong points.

Murdock looked at the file, Face still looking too, even though he'd read all the relevant information.

"Uh, sorry about last night." Murdock said, staying transfixed with the file.

"Oh no, it was fine. We had a real nice time." Face amended, hoping to make Murdock feel a little better.

"Great." Murdock said, forcing a cheerful voice. He wasn't thinking it was great though, he was thinking about how Face had a better time without him while all he'd done was row with Erica and then spent half the night awake thinking things through.

"Yeah." Face said, agreeing with Murdock. There was nothing else to be said. "I'm gonna go help the others."

"'Kay." Murdock said. "Oh, I just need to call work, let 'em know I won't be there for a few days." He added.

"Yeah sure." Face said, leaving the man alone.

Murdock called Erica's apartment. It rang several times before the machine picked up. She was probably ignoring him. He listened to the message she had recorded and felt his heart skip a beat.

He knew he'd been rotten to her and felt bad. He really did love her. He heard the beep.

"Hey Erica, it's me. Um, I'm gonna be outta town for a few days so I'll see you soon and I promise we'll talk things through when I get back. Love ya." With that he hung up.

He stood there a moment, before going out to help the others.


	6. Chapter 6

VI

Hannibal counted in his head, giving the team time to get into position.

He had Frankie and BA cover the exits, while Face, Murdock and himself made there way towards the room that contained the file.

As they knew there would be a lot of guards to get through, Hannibal decided that they needed a more subdued approach.

He had Face and Murdock covering two separate ways to the room, insuring that if they did run into trouble there would be more than one escape route.

He made his way down one of the halls, carefully taking out any guards he found along the way. In fact, things were going pretty well, until the radio came to life.

"Hannibal, help!" It was Face, his voice tight.

He made his way towards where he knew Face would be.

He took out his own radio, calling Murdock to make sure he was on his way to Face as well.

When there was no answer from him either, he called in BA and Frankie.

This mission was supposed to be one of the easier ones, but so far, that luxury had alluded them nicely.

The team were supposed to be going in and out discreetly, taking the file and leaving, no one the wiser until the guards they'd knocked out finally had woken.

What was supposed to be a silent retreat was turning into a day at the shooting gallery.

Hannibal's voice came out through the radio. "Mission complete. Get moving!"

It wasn't until they re-grouped outside that they realised just how bad things had all gone wrong. They'd all gone separate ways, it being a matter of having too because of the chaos.

Face had a bullet skim his arm although it wasn't serious. Murdock had hurt his back after meeting one incredibly strong guard who'd just flung him forcefully into a wall and then to the ground and Hannibal had a broken finger, just to top it all off.

So, they were returning home, all a little worse for wear and all a little grumpy.

It was true enough that missions rarely went smoothly for the team- something always came up. But this time there had been a number of things come up which had resulted in the general shambles their mission had ended in.

Hannibal was silently thankful they weren't working for clients any more, they'd loose business if they weren't able to handle a few goons like today.

The thing was, he wasn't sure why they weren't working any more.

He'd acknowledged the problems between Face and Murdock and things between them seemed a little less tense than they had before. Murdock canceling the double date he'd had with Face hadn't helped much, but that was the whole reason for him leaving the two of them alone before they had left to carry out the mission.

He was certain that these problems weren't all coming just from those two. Maybe he was partly to blame.

How could he ask the team to respect and listen to his orders when he let them work for Stockwell, a fact that none of them were pleased with.

He'd added a new member to the team, one that, in truth, they didn't need.

Hannibal liked Frankie, he was a good guy, but the fact was he could be a serious liability on a case always was predominant in his thoughts. If they were ever caught during a really dangerous mission and they thought Frankie knew information they'd do whatever they could to get that knowledge from him. Of course, Frankie would crack and Hannibal would probably end up making a call to Mr Santana Snr. telling the man that his son had died 'an honorable death'.

As for the rest of the team, Hannibal knew that they all hated working for Stockwell.

BA always hated not seeing his mother and being in Virginia just made it much more worse. Stockwell didn't allow them time off to visit family.

Face hated Stockwell. If it wasn't evident enough when he walked out on the team he'd been showing signs of his displeasure long before that. He'd spoken to Hannibal privately before hand, telling him he wanted them to go it alone again which Hannibal had always dismissed.

Murdock seemed to adjust pretty well to the whole movement. Hannibal had initially been worried about Murdock's mental health, getting out of the VA so quickly and the stress he'd been through with the teams supposed execution, so much so that he'd taken time out and visited Richter, making sure that Murdock's release was above board.

The Doctor assured him it was all legal and as far as he was concerned Murdock's mental state had probably been 'sane' for some time now.

He'd obviously played on the crazy thing for his own comfort, it was helpful for the team to know where Murdock was all the time and have him away from the MP's at the same time.

With that fear out of the way, Hannibal was able to relax more, but he noticed a strange thing between Murdock and Stockwell.

For whatever reason Stockwell did not want Murdock to be with the team all the time, making sure he stayed away from their place and only having him there for either missions and occasionally giving permission for him to be there for holidays and such.

But there seemed to be more to them than that. Maybe Hannibal was a little paranoid about the whole thing, but they seemed like they had a hate that ran a lot deeper. Face hated Stockwell because he kept the team where they were and he undermined Hannibal's authority, he knew that, Face had told him so. Murdock wouldn't let those things bother him so much. If he hated Stockwell for the same reason he'd have said so.

There was more to it than that. But Murdock wasn't one to discuss such things, anything on a personal nature to Murdock would stay private unless it was vital for the others to know.

Hannibal let out a sigh. He wasn't sure how to make the team work like they did before, but he knew it would take more than a few training sessions.


	7. Chapter 7

VII

Hannibal was vague with details when reporting back to Stockwell about the mission. He didn't want him to know how things had really gone.

Stockwell really wasn't interested in details, as long as he got what he wanted. The General soon left the men to their own devices.

Hannibal wanted to talk about the situation right away.

"I think we need to organise some training session, guys. We're letting ourselves go." He stated to the others. From the lack of response he got, he wasn't sure of the others feelings, so pressed on.

"I'm going to organise a few different tasks for us to take part in, build up some team work."

"Aww Hannibal, do we have to. We had a bad day, that's all." BA said. The last thing we wanted to do was run around in the early, cold mornings.

"That 'bad day' could have cost someone their life." Hannibal reminded him.

"That's a little drastic, isn't it Johnny?" Frankie replied, smiling at how absurd it sounded.

"I don't think so." Hannibal replied deadly serious. "Teamwork's our biggest weapon out there, if we can't work together at one, we're just not good enough."

"That's a bit harsh." Face said. It was fair enough that they did work best as a team, but it was unfair to say individually they were as good.

"No, it's not. We have to work as a team." Hannibal said.

"But it's OK when you go off on solo missions, 'cause you are good enough?" Murdock asked.

"Murdock, you're way off form right now so I think you should be a little more careful with what you say." Hannibal reprimanded.

Murdock smirked, but said no more.

"Whoa guys, come on." Frankie said, slightly afraid things were going to turn nasty. "We're all put some extra time in, right?"

"I can't commit to that." Murdock said. "Look, there's only so many times I can just walk out of a job at a moments notice before they get sick of me and I get the sack. And I can't keep going from job to job 'cause I'll tell you I'm gonna run outta places that'll take me on."

Hannibal rubbed a hand across his eyes tiredly. "Fine. You'll just have to do limited exercises with us, as long as you get to do some. The first one will be tomorrow morning, 6am here. You can make that one right?"

"No problem." Murdock replied.

"Ok guys. Get some food, unwind and get some rest. We're in for a long day tomorrow."

Face came out of his bedroom wearing a smart shirt and jeans and made his way into the lounge.

BA was the only one in the room, and he was absorbed in a Wrestling match on the TV.

"Where is everyone?" Face asked.

"I'm here." BA said, not looking away from the screen.

"Well, where are the others?" Face said.

"Not sure."

"Thanks for your help. If you see Hannibal just let him know I've gone out but I'll be back before midnight."

"Why, is that when you turn into a pumpkin?" BA asked, smiling.

"No, but if I come back later than that, Hannibal will carve me up like a pumpkin." Face was about to make his way to the door, but came back into the room and sat down near BA. He looked at him for a moment, saying nothing.

BA turned away from the screen, noted a hint of worry playing on Face's features. "What?" he asked.

"We'll be OK, won't we?" Face asked. Noting BA's slight confusion at the topic, Face elaborated. "The team."

Enlightenment dawned on BA. "Course we will. It was just one mission. Ain't nothing to worry about. Hannibal's sorting it out."

"Yeah, I guess." Face didn't seem very comforted by the words.

"You're gonna be late." BA said.

"Yeah, I best get going. Will you let Hannibal know where I've gone. I don't want him to flip out."

"Sure."

As the door closed behind Face, BA started to consider what Face had said.

For the first time, he actually wondered if the team could still work together.

She answered the phone on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." Murdock said.

"Oh, you're back then." Erica replied, her voice sounded a little shaky, undoubtedly due to her anger with him.

She was obviously still mad with him. "Can we go somewhere to talk?"

"Sorry I'm busy tonight."

"What?"

"I have plans. Did you expect me to just sit around and wait for you to call?"

"Look, I just want to work things out between us." Murdock said.

"There is no us. I can't sit around and wait for you to decide you feel like talking. I've moved on."

"What about the baby?"

"What about it. You're obviously not interested. I've met someone new. We're going to raise the baby together. I don't want anything from you and if you try to fight it, I think your past will come back to haunt you."

Murdock took a few moments to digest what Erica had just said. "My past." he repeated.

"Crazy people shouldn't be left alone with babies."

Murdock slammed the receiver down. There was no way Erica should know that, Face had made sure that Murdock's records were spotless so he would be employed.

There was only one person who would have told Erica the truth.

Stockwell.


	8. Chapter 8

VIII

Erica placed the phone down after hearing the dial tone, her hand shaking. "He's gone." She said.

"Good."

The bar looked suitably quiet, dark and grubby- just the sort of place Murdock was looking for.

He wanted to just forget the 'real' world, just for a while.

To be honest, wanting to get away from the real world wasn't good for him. Not in the real world meant being in his world, which was never a good place to stay, not when it landed you in a mental institution for more than 10 years.

But right now, it was preferable to be locked up than it was to deal with what was happening in his life.

He ordered a beer from the barman, who seemed just as disillusioned with his life as everyone else in the room, and the sat hunched over the bar, drinking it, all the while trying to forget all that was wrong with his life at that moment.

Murdock was vaguely aware of someone's presence next to him, but ignored it assuming it was a customer waiting for service. When the bartender made no attempt to serve the stranger, Murdock turned to look at the person sitting on the stool next to him.

A warm smile greeted at him from a petite blonde haired lady. She was cute, Murdock had to admit, far to cute to be in a rotten place like this.

"Can I help you?" he asked her.

"Depends on whether you want some company." she replied.

"Er... I just came he for some time alone." Murdock answered, not quite sure what she was asking him.

"Me to. They say talking helps. Could you help me out and maybe listen?"

Murdock didn't answer immediately, he wanted to think through his own problems not here somewhere else's.

Noticing the stalling, the lady stood up. "It's Ok. I'm sorry to bother you."

"No, it's OK. I wanna help. I'm not getting anywhere anyway." Murdock explained.

She sat back on the stool, her smile restored. She held her hand out for Murdock to shake. "Names Gabrielle."

"That's a pretty name."

"Thank you. What can I call you then?"

"Murdock. Or, HM. Your choice."

"Murdock. That came first, so that must be the preferable one."

Murdock smiled at her, confirming what she thought. "So, tell me your problems."

"BA, where's Face?" Hannibal asked, as he came in through the front door.

"Gone out." BA replied.

"Do you know where?"

"Didn't say."

"Great."

"Problem?"

"Not really. I just wanted to talk to him. It'll keep. Thanks BA."

"So, that's my story of woe. Any advice?" Gabrielle asked.

"Leave home." Murdock suggested.

"I've thought of that before. But if I go, I'll be on the streets."

"Well, you could come stay with me until you get sorted."

"Are you kidding me? You don't even know me."

"I can't turn away from someone who needs help."

"Tell me your story." she asked.

"Well, there's not much to mine. I've got a ex-girlfriend who's pregnant, by me, and wants nothing to do with me. I'm in an eternal struggle between my friends and my job and whatever I do, it'll be wrong."

"Why don't your friends understand you have to work?"

"It's not that simple, I guess. They kinda work for a charity- helping people out for nothing and I try and help them as much as I can, but I need to work too."

"Sounds hard to choose. Wanna hear my advice?

"Of course."

"Work first. Who doesn't wanna do something for charity, but if you're not careful you'll end up as part of the charity case. You're friends should understand."

"Look, I was serious before about that offer. I don't want you to go back to your place if your guys gonna be there. I promise to be the perfect gentlemen."

Face knocked on the door to Jessica's apartment. He'd called her once they'd got back and she'd told him to come over.

He'd stopped briefly on the way over to buy her some flowers, but had got caught up in traffic because of a minor accident. He hadn't seen what had happened by the time he got to the the place, everything had been removed and only glass marked the road.

When she didn't answer, Face knocked a little louder, he listened for the sound of running water, or a hairdryer, but all he could hear was some music playing softly.

Realising that she couldn't hear him, Face looked around and seeing the coast was clear, he pulled out his trusty lock pick.

He had the door open in seconds, and carefully shut it behind him.

Noticing some items of clothing on the floor in the bathroom floor, and seeing the door half open, he made his way to surprise Jess.


	9. Chapter 9

IX

Hannibal glared at his watch as though it would make something happen.

BA and Frankie both stood still, waiting as they had been for sometime.

Waiting for Hannibal to say something.

Waiting for Face and Murdock to show up.

"I don't think they're coming Johnny." Frankie said softly. They were an hour late already.

"Maybe we should do the training and they can do extra when they get here." BA suggested. He had rarely seen Hannibal so mad, although he was handling it pretty well. BA did feel a swell of pity for the others when they did arrive as Hannibal would surely chew them out. But they knew they were supposed to be here.

"Good idea BA. I'll think of something appropriate for them. Lets get started."

Murdock opened his eyes slowly. Everything was a little bleary and out of focus.

He thought back to the night before and realised he was suffering the consequences of too much to drink.

Closing his eyes, he turned over so he was laying on his back. He felt a coldness on his leg and opened his eyes.

He saw his completely naked lower body and just to the left of him, the half naked Gabrielle. He groaned inwards. Just the right way to complicate both their lives a little more.

He sat up carefully trying not to wake her up, but he wasn't very successful as she shot up in bed and quickly elbowed the figure next to her.

"Ow!" Murdock said, as she connected with his ribs.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

"It's Ok." Murdock said.

He wondered where the 'gentlemen' he'd promised to be had gone last night.

Hannibal watched as Frankie and BA went back into the house after the run to get some drinks before the next leg of their training.

Murdock and Face were now both over two hours late. There was a time when he would have gone to look for them, making sure they were alright, but knowing how things had been lately, he assumed that Murdock had gone top work, he didn't seem keen on the idea in the first place and that Face had spent another night as Jessica's.

After Murdock had washed and dressed he considered calling Hannibal, but decided against it. He wasn't in the mood to listen to whatever abuse he'd get, plus he'd rather take it face to face.

However, he did need to speak to Erica and she was easier to talk to over the phone.

Before he picked up the receiver, the phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Murdock said, guessing that it was Erica calling after the row they'd had yesterday and her harsh words. He was wrong.

"Murdock." Face said, sounding a little surprised as though he hadn't meant to call the pilot.

"Yeah, it's me. What's up?" he asked.

"Can you come over, real quick. Somethings wrong."

"What? Are you OK?" Murdock asked a little worried.

"Please, be quick. I'm at Jessica's apartment."

"Where?"

"You know where the Cinema is by the mall, the one you go past on your way to work? It's the apartment block opposite. 42C."

"I'm leaving now." Murdock said, hanging up. He looked round, seeing Gabrielle standing there.

"Your ex?" She asked.

"No, my best friend. I gotta go. Stay here or you can let yourself out." Murdock pulled out a set of keys from a drawer and passed them to her. "That's the spare key. I'm sorry, I gotta go."


	10. Chapter 10

Note: Cooroo, I kinda lied, this is a pretty short chapter! It's only one page, but by the time you get to the end of this page, you'll see why.

Thanks everyone's who's read and reviewed this story so far. Please keep enjoying it.

X

Face opened the door, looking ashen and in shock.

"What's wrong?" Murdock asked.

"In the bathroom. It's Jess." Face said no more.

Murdock waited a moment and then looked around at the rooms and saw the one that clearly was the bathroom and made his way into it.

He saw straight away the woman in the bathtub. Her eyes staring blankly, her mouth open like she would gasp any moment, she was naked and the water had turned a shade of pink that Murdock knew was from the blood that had been diluted.

Face remained outside the room.

"When did you get here?" Murdock asked. The conman stayed silent. "Face." Murdock called louder.

"Last night. About 7."

"Have you moved her?"

"I felt for a pulse."

"Have you been here all this time? Why didn't you call someone sooner?"

"I just... I couldn't stay." Face fumbled for the words, but they failed him.

"Ok. You need to go."

"W-what?" Face asked, not sure he heard right.

"I gotta call an ambulance. You can't be here."

"Neither can you." Face said.

"It'll be OK. Trust me. I'm gonna sort everything out, right?"

Face nodded.

"And get a taxi. Don't drive."

Murdock watched as Face picked up his jacket, the flowers he'd brought in with him and left the apartment.

Murdock looked back round at the body, not sure where to start.

He carefully touched her face, flinching at the coldness there.

Pulling himself together, he grabbed her shoulders, and gently pulled her forward, looking for the injury that would have killed her.

Murdock could only assume she slipped in the bath and hit her head on the tiles. He needed to know though.

It was difficult to move the body, due to rigor mortise setting in, but he managed to move her enough to see the back of her head. There was a head injury, Murdock was about to inspect it closer when he noticed something on her back.

Carved into her skin were three words.

The A Team.


	11. Chapter 11

XI

Frankie was sprawled across the couch when Face returned.

"Oh, Face, Hannibal's mad at you guys. Is Murdock with you?" Frankie asked, not noticing Face's obvious shock. "Where have you been man?"

"Where's Hannibal and BA?" Face said, his tone flat.

"Outside. Are you Okay?" Frankie asked, catching on that something was wrong.

"Just, er, just stay here, alright?"

"Yeah sure." Frankie said eventually.

Face robotically made his way outside and over to his two team mates, who were talking quietly to one another.

"Face..." Hannibal started as though he were going to say more, but he noticed the body language coming from his lieutenant and stopped himself short.

"What's wrong?" BA asked.

"Jessica's dead." Face said.

Frankie watched the guys from inside, trying to figure you what was happening.

He could only see BA's features and he looked confused and a little worried.

He absently wondered if Stockwell knew what had rattled Face's cage so much. Probably, he usually had a hand in everything that happened to them.

He also wondered where Murdock was. He hadn't turned up for the training and hadn't so much as called since. Frankie gathered that Hannibal would call him soon enough, if Face's problem required it.

For now, he'd just have to sit and wait.

"So, you went to her apartment, broke in and found her body in the tub?" Hannibal recapped.

Face nodded.

"And you didn't call for an ambulance." BA stated.

"She was already dead. There was nothing they could have done."

"It's just as well you didn't. So, you then called Murdock, from a phone booth outside, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, his number just came to me first. I didn't even realise I'd left it so long."

"Whatcha do all that time?" BA asked.

"I, er, I ran out. I just felt like I couldn't breath in there."

"Is Murdock staying to talk to the police?" BA asked.

"I don't know. He just told me to go." Face explained.

"I guess we'll soon find out." Hannibal said.

Murdock casually walked up the stairwell, a lit cigarette in his mouth as he made his way up to where Jessica's apartment was.

Her place was on the third floor, and when Murdock reached the second, he found the nearest fire call point and broke the glass.

Sirens blared out as he quickly made his up to the room where the body was awaiting him.

Face and BA remained outside as Hannibal walked inside to talk to Frankie.

Frankie wasn't sure what mask Hannibal was wearing, or more precisely, what he was hiding underneath it.

He felt the need to stand as Hannibal got close to him.

"What's happening, Johnny?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

"Somethings happened."

Murdock gave the people five minutes to clear the building, before he began.

He'd done most of the work beforehand, setting everything up just right. He'd decided to wait until after 9am, so most people would be at work- instantly cutting the number of people who would possible be injured. He'd raided Jessica's cupboards of all alcohol so that he could set up the fire in her room. The bed was already soaking in the liquid and Jessica's body laid in the middle of it.

With one last look at her motionless face, he took the cigarette from his mouth and threw it onto the bed and watched as the flames engulfed the woman.

Frankie felt the shock waves of what he'd been told hit him again and again.

The fear that came with the news was taking over now and the consequences it would have on his life. His dad was prone and poorly, he'd have no chance if someone wanted to take him out.

He heard BA's voice as he came into the room. At first he ignored the chatter, but then remembering that this was Face's girlfriend, he turned to see if the conman had entered too, which he had.

He recognised the shock now- it was how he felt, but less. BA was sticking close to Face, offering a silent support Frankie had come to realise by now, but he wouldn't meet anyone's eye, like he was afraid it would spoil the illusion.

Hannibal had been his normal self throughout speaking to Frankie. He'd been strong although there was something in those eyes that wasn't in tune with what he said and how he acted. The incident came across as rather cold and clinical from Hannibal, like he'd told too many people too many bad things throughout his life and it was almost as though he expected to have to repeat the process over and over again.

Sudden movement by Face caused Frankie to turn his attention back to him and he watched as he turned the sound up on the TV.

Frankie looked at the screen to see a building on fire.

"What's he done?" he heard Face faintly mumble.


	12. Chapter 12

XII

Murdock pulled the loose change from his pocket and slid one of the coins into the slot and dialed the number he knew off by heart.

He heard a familiar voice answer. "Let me speak to him."

There was a long stretch of silence before he heard the next voice. "Captain."

"I think we should talk."

"Really. What for?"

"Murder."

"Captain, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"How about secrets, then? Got a few to keep, haven't you?"

"You can't blackmail me."

"I never said anything about blackmail, General. But, if a few of those home truths did come out, I think we both know what would happen now, don't we."

"If I remember rightly, you have enough of your own secrets to keep, Captain.

"Yeah, they aren't as good as yours though. Let's just stick with the murder. Get one of your people to pick me up." With that, Murdock hung up.

"I don't understand why he'd set fire to the place." Face said and not for the first time, he'd been repeating himeself over and over again.

"There must have been something there." BA said, knowing that Murdock wouldn't just burn down a building unless he had to.

He turned to Hannibal for his support, but noticed the Colonel was paying attention to Frankie. BA turned his gaze upon the younger man also, seeing the look of fear there, unmasked and real.

"You Okay, Frankie?" Hannibal asked.

"No, man. I'm worried. What'll happen to my father, he might not be safe."

"It'll be OK." BA said.

"Frankie, I'll do whatever I have to to bring this team back together." Hannibal assured them. "We need Murdock here. Any idea where he is?"

Stockwell sat behind his desk on the jet, looking as he always did- smug and self righteous.

"Captain. Now, what's all this about murder?" he asked. Clearly he'd got over the threat of Murdock blowing any of his secrets out of the water.

"Don't play with me. You know exactly what's been going on."

"Well, I know that you decided that arson was a good way to solve your problems."

"It's not my problem." Murdock corrected. "But, since you know so much, I know you'll be able to inform me who exactly was behind this."

"Sorry, Captain. I know as little about this as you."

"I don't buy that."

"I don't recall asking you to. Whether you believe me or not as of little consequence to me."

Murdock rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, before moving closer to Stockwell in a sudden movement. They were face to face across the desk. "Maybe you should be a little more concerned about what happens to your investment. The team aren't puppets, you can't control them."

"I thought I was doing a rather good job of it." Stockwell said, smiling.

"It won't work. You know what I'll do to protect them. I don't care how big you think you are, if you don't help out I'll won't be accountable for what happens." Murdock stood back up. Took a few steps back.

"Sorry Captain. If I honestly believed you'd expose any of these secrets, you'd have done it when your men were facing the firing squad."

It was Murdock's turn to smile. "General, I wouldn't have used the stuff I have on you for that. I had plenty of ideas for getting the team out of there. I'd have used blackmail as a last resort. I'm using it now. If anything happens to anyone else, if anyone else gets hurt, you'll be finished. I promise you."

Murdock had to get back to the guys.

He needed to explain to them what he'd found because right now they probably thought he'd lost his marbles right about now.

First he needed to get back to his place.

Needed to clean up and get some fresh clothes on.

Everything else would have to wait for now.

Stockwell sat at the desk, contemplating the Captains words.

He knew he was serious. Knew he'd protect the team at all costs.

He'd have to get one of his top men to look into this, see what they could find out.

See who exactly wanted to hit the team so close to home.

BA watched the rest of the team go about their business, but things were far from right.

Hannibal seemed to be carrying on as usual, or at least trying to. BA had a feeling that something wasn't quite right with the Colonel at the moment and he suspected it was the turn of events and how he'd been almost displaced. Afterall, Face had called Murdock rather than him.

Frankie simply didn't know what to do. He looked to scared to say anything and just sat watching the TV and every now and then, he'd glance at the telephone.

He was probably as anxious to call his father and BA was to call his mother. He knew he couldn't, in case Murdock called in, but from the look on Frankie's face, he hadn't thought of that, he was still just to scared to ask.

Face had been very quiet earlier on, the shock numbing him.

He'd changed after they saw the news report of the apartment on fire. He looked very apprehensive now, probably worried about Murdock, as they all were as he hadn't called in.

BA knew he wasn't stupid and the pilot could take care of himself very well on his own.

But that didn't mean that they had to like it.

"Guys." Face called out as he sat forward on the sofa paying attention to the screen again.

"...the fire that earlier caused destruction at an apartment block has claimed a life. The body of a woman has been found in one of the rooms where the fire seems to have started. The Firemen who tackled the blaze have made no comments about what they believe caused the incident. The body of the woman has been taken for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Reports from the Police department indicate that they believe no foul play was involved and this was the result of a tragic accident..."

"That's bull!" Hannibal said angrily from where he stood by the doors.

"Someone murdered her." Face said. "Why aren't they looking for the killers?"

"Because if they do, they'll come looking for you."

The men in the room looked to the door, where Murdock stood.

"Whatta ya mean?" BA asked, confused.

"Face, you never really moved Jessica's body. She had the words 'The A Team' carved into her back."

"But no one's gonna think that the A Team would kill an innocent girl, right?" Frankie asked.

"The A Team who should have been executed for the convicted murder of Colonel Morrison? What d'you think, Frank."

"So that's why you burnt the apartment." Face said.

"I didn't see any other choice."

"What about the news report?" Hannibal said, walking towards Murdock.

"What about it?"

"They just assume it's an innocent accident all by themselves. Or did someone else sway that opinion?"

Murdock moved a little closer to Hannibal. "Anyone would think you want the team executed, Hannibal. It's a good thing that they aren't looking for suspects."

"We're be looking for the real culprits anyway, won't we?" Face asked.

"That's not the point, Face. I don't like my team going behind my back."

"You're gonna start this again?" Murdock shot back.

"Start what up?" BA said.

Murdock and Hannibal seemed to be in a stare down and no one answered. Murdock broke away, turning from the group and heading back to the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" Face asked.

"Back to my place, I got stuff to do." Murdock answered as he walked out the door.

"Are you gonna let him go, Johnny?" Frankie asked.

"He can do what he likes. My biggest concern is with the team. He's walked out of here, he's walked out on us."

"Hannibal." Face said, shocked.

BA threw a look at the Colonel of complete surprise. "You're saying his outta the team?"

Hannibal looked harshly at the man walking away from him, anger flaring. He turned to answer BA, but realised his mistake. He composed himself, letting the anger go. "No, of course not. I want the team how it used to be. And we need Murdock for that. We'll just give him some time. He needs to go home for a while. Sort things out. Then he'll come back to us."

Hannibal watched as the men looked more relaxed.

It made him feel good to know he'd done that.

That's what being the leader was all about.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: I apologies for not getting anything posted sooner, but I've been having a little trouble with things keep timing out here! Very annoying. Sorry guys!

XIII

Today hadn't been good and Murdock wanted nothing more than to crash out as soon as he got home.

He knew that it wouldn't be possible. As tired as he felt now, the minute he got in he knew a hundred things would be flying through his head.

And the first thing he was going to do when he got in was call Erica.

He could except that things were over between them, but not this way. He'd had few important relationships in his life and he'd never had one that had ended up sour. He didn't want this being the first.

Once he was in, he noticed the mess.

He hadn't left it like this.

And then the things that were missing started to become obvious to him.

The TV, the VCR. The stereo.

And no trace of Gabrielle.

Damn. How could he have been so stupid, so guliable. He knew better than that.

Realising that beating himself up over it now was fruitless, he decided to call Erica. At least he had good reason to now, he could hardly stay here when anyone could just walk in.

He dialed Erica's number and waited for her to answer. The machine picked up and he was asked to leave a message.

"Hey it's me. I'm gonna come over. We need to talk and I really need a place to stay for a few days. If you really don't want me to stay I can get a room at a hotel nearby, but we still need to talk. I'll be there in about half an hour. See ya then."

He hung the phone up, and took another look around the apartment before he left for Erica's.

Murdock took the key out ready to let himself into Erica's apartment, but decided they way things had been last time they spoke, it may not be a good idea.

He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer.

After a minute or two, he knocked again and waited some more. He gathered that she wan't in and pulled out his set of keys, and locating hers, he opened the door and let himself in.

Face walked across the room and sat next to BA on the couch.

Frankie had gone to his room earlier and Hannibal was outside smoking.

"What do we do?" Face asked.

"About what?" BA replied.

"Hannibal and Murdock."

"I don't know. Ain't nothing we can do. They gotta sort it out themselves."

"Yeah but... what Hannibal said, do you think he meant it?"

BA hesitated a moment. "Nah, he was jus' mad. They just need some time clear of each other."

"I guess. It's just that..."

Face was cut off by the phone starting to ring.

BA picked it up quickly as he was closest. "Yeah?"

"BA?" Murdock said. "Erica's dead."


	14. Chapter 14

XIV

"What? What is it?" Face asked as BA put the phone down. "Is Murdock alright?"

"It's Erica." BA said. He didn't say anything else. He didn't know how tosay it, but he knew at least Face and the Colonel would understand.

"Oh God..." Face said. The thought frightened him, not just because another innocent person had died, but because it meant that whoever was after the team was very serious and playing a deadly game. The thoughts about where this could go sent a chill through Face's whole body.

"What she's...she's dead too?" Frankie asked, although by the look of the others, he already knew the answer. "I gotta call my father. I need to know he's okay" He said as he got up and moved over to the phone and started to dial the number, the phone pressed to his ear.

BA moved away from the younger man, giving him some privacy, but listening to what Frankie said all the same hoping that his father was well.

"Go get Murdock." Hannibal said to Face. "He's better off back here with us."

"BA, you coming?" Face asked.

BA was watching Frankie, waiting for a reaction but Frankie appeared to be waiting still. BA turned his attention to Face, "Yeah, I'm comin'."

Face looked to Hannibal. "We won't be long."

The Colonel nodded his head and watched the two men leave.

He exhaled deeply. Opening the back door, he lit a cigar and started smoking.

He was there for several minutes before he was interrupted.

"My father's okay." Frankie said, his voice full of relief.

"That's good then." Hannibal said, continuing to smoke.

"So what now?" Frankie asked.

Hannibal stepped outside into the night. He smiled at Frankie. "I think I've got a plan."

Face felt sick as he made his way to Erica's apartment, where he knew Murdock and a body were waiting for him.

He was nervous about what he'd find beyond the door. Would Erica be in the same sort of condition as Jess had been? He tried to shove the image of her lifeless body in the bath from his head and continued towards the room.

BA was waiting in the van, keeping an eye out for anyone who may causetrouble, but Face knew in reality that BA wasn't sure how well he'd handle what they were to encounter.

Face knew he didn't have far to go until he was at Erica's door.

Whatever he was faced with, he'd have to deal with it.

And suddenly, he was standing in front of that door and automatically his hand knocked lightly on it.

He barely had a chance to breathe before it was opened and he was looking into the eyes of his best friend.

The emotions Face saw in those eyes he could barely register, they were so conflicting and filtered so quickly, but he was left with the impressions of a fierce anger that was lying just under the surface and a

pain that ripped through layers of skin and flesh and went right to your heart where it hurt you most.

Face stepped closer to Murdock but the pilot stopped him.

"Let's just go." Murdock said.

"But wait, what if they know you were here?" Face said.

"I don't care. I'm not wanted like you." Murdock stated.

"Still, no need to be stupid." Face said. "You're an ex-mental patient, they'll throw that back at you."

"Face, I can't deal with that." Murdock said, indicating the room behind him. "Please, let's just go."

"I need to see." Face said.

"I can't... I need to be away from here." Murdock said.

"BA's in the van. Go down, stay with him. I'll be just a minute."

Murdock nodded and left the room behind him without another glance back. Face waited until his friend was out of sight before he went fully into the room.

No amount of preparation could help him with what he saw.

Hannibal had seen the figure moving around inside and cautiously made his way back in.

He had taken his gun out in a fluid motion and was waiting until he saw the intruder before he made a move.

Then he saw him.

BA concentrated on driving back.

He didn't take his eyes off the road, didn't want to see the haunted looks

on the others faces.

BA gripped the steering wheel tightly, angry at what was happening to his friends, angry that they were being targeted by an unknown enemy.

But once they knew who was responsible, he'd take revenge.

For two murdered girls.

For two friends.

And he'd look forward to hunting the bastards down.

"Looks like Stockwell beat us here." BA said as he parked the van at the front of the house. "Wonder what he wants."

"Maybe he knows something about Jessica's murder." Murdock said.

"How does he know about Jessica?" Face asked, curiously.

"I told him." Murdock stated flatly.

"What for?" Face asked. BA had turned round in his seat, listening intently to the conversation.

"Cover. Stop the truth coming out about how Jessica died."

"But it was murder." Face said. "She deserved justice for her murder."

"Oh come on, this isn't about justice, you know that. I told Stockwell for your own protection."

"Is that what Hannibal was talking about earlier, going behind his back? You went to Stockwell before, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"What for?" BA asked.

"It's kinda personal. Lets just say that Hannibal had a plan I wasn't so keen on. Look, now's just not the time. Stockwell did me a little favour that he owed me and it was sorted. But Hannibal wasn't thrilled when he

found out."

"I bet." Face said. Not quite sure what to make of this new information, he decided for now, he had to concentrate on the immediate problem. "Let's get inside and see what Stockwell has to say then."

The three men climbed out of the van and made their way to the door.

As BA turned the handle, they heard a single gun shot.


	15. Chapter 15

XV

"Murdock go round the back, we'll take them by surprise." Face ordered, pulling out his gun as did BA and Murdock.

The pilot nodded as he got his orders and made his way to the rear of the building.

Face gave him a few moments to get there before he signaled and on his command, they opened the door and both entered.

Stockwell's body was slumped on the floor, blood oozing from a wound Face couldn't quite detect.

He couldn't see if the man was still breathing.

Hannibal was in the room, gun still in hand.

Relieved that Hannibal was unharmed, Face put his gun away and moved over to him. "Are you okay?"

Hannibal nodded as he fiddled with his gun.

"Well, what happened?" Face asked, looking at Stockwell's body on the ground.

The Colonel reloaded his gun and looked at Face. "Nothing. I'm just doing what I've gotta do."

There was silence in the room as the three men exchanged glances.

"What... what have you got to do?" Face asked, confused.

"Face, you know as well as I do that things started to go wrong when we started working for Stockwell. Since then it's got worse and worse. Then I realised that you were all missing the way things used to be and I knew I had to get us back there. We're finished here."

"We're leaving?" BA asked.

"Yeah. Back to the old days. It'll be how it should have been all along. The three of us on the run, Murdock in the VA. The MP's after us." Hannibal chuckled to himself. "I wonder what goon they'll have chasing after us this time."

BA looked at Face, waiting for him to do something, say something that would explain everything.

When it didn't come and he saw the same confused look in Face's eyes, he knew this was real.

"I'll just finish up here and we can get going." Hannibal said, aiming the gun at Stockwell's head. "At least he won't move try to move out the way this time."

"Hannibal, no!" Face said.

The shot fired out, silencing everything else.

But it wasn't from Hannibal's gun.

Face saw Hannibal drop the gun as he clutched his arm.

He saw Murdock at the door, his gun pointing at Hannibal.

BA moved quickly and kicked the gun away from Hannibal, before BA grabbed him from behind, holding Hannibal's arms tightly, immobilising the man.

Face and Murdock moved in, ready to help.

"I need to tie him up." BA said. Face looked around him and saw the tie that Stockwell wore. He quickly undid the knot and tied Hannibal's hands securely behind his back.

Once he was tied up, BA pushed him onto the couch and the three of them looked at one another.

"We need to call an ambulance." Face said, as he made his way to the phone.

"Already done." Murdock said. He turned away and headed back outside quickly.

Face watched Murdock go and looked to BA who wore the same confused expression. "Watch him" he said as he nodded at Hannibal.

He followed Murdock outside, where he saw why Murdock had called an ambulance.

Frankie was unconscious on the floor, a pool of blood had formed underneath him. Murdock jacket covered the body.

"Oh God..." Face muttered. "Is he?"

"He's still got a pulse." Murdock said. He removed his shirt and bent down at Frankie's side, using the shirt as a bandage.

"I'm gonna go see to Stockwell. You'll be okay out here?"

Murdock nodded and continued tending to Frankie's wounds.

Face went back inside.

Back to where he'd lost one of the most important people in his life.

He found the wound on Stockwell's side. It wouldn't have caused unconsciousness, but he noticed a bad cut in his head. He must have struck himself when he avoided the bullet.

Face removed his shirt and and after ripping a strip off, he held a bandage to the General's wound.

As he held it there, he looked over at Hannibal.

BA was still towering over him, his gun pointing at the man.

Face ripped another strip off the shirt and came over to Hannibal. He felt apprehensive as he approached and hoped that it didn't show. He tied it tightly around the bullet wound in Hannibal's upper arm and then stepped back.

"BA, go see if Murdock needs any help with Frankie." Face said, drawing out his gun so he could guard Hannibal.

"Right." BA said and quickly made his way outside.

Once BA was outside, Hannibal looked at Face.

He wore a look on complete confusion.

He'd seen the same look on Murdock's face years ago, during his darkest days in the POW camp.

The difference was, Murdock had given them all the signs. He went down a slope and they could do nothing but watch his descent into the darkness, but they knew and were aware.

Hannibal had jumped off the cliff. There was no warning. He was right where Murdock had been but he'd got there so much quicker.

"Face."

The Lieutenant had his eyes on Hannibal, but his mind had wandered far away. "What?"

"Murdock shot me."

"Yeah, I know."

"When I asked him to go back to the VA, I didn't mean he had to act crazy again. At least he didn't have to shoot me." Hannibal said. "He always was a good actor though, don't you think?"

"That's what you asked him? You really wanted him back in the VA?" Face asked.

"It's what you wanted. You and the others. All you kept saying is how things weren't like they used to be. And you were all so unhappy. I had to change that. I had to make it right again."

"What about Jessica?"

"What about her?" Hannibal asked.

"Did you have anything to do with her? Did you kill her?"

"She slipped."

"Well what about her back? You wrote that message on her, didn't you?" Face said, anger rising.

"It was part of the plan, Face. Once the cops found it, they'd be after us again. But then _you_ had to go call Murdock and screwed everything up."

Face couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What about Erica?"

"I couldn't let Murdock stay with her. He'd never have gone back to the VA while she was carrying his baby."

Face looked at his Colonel.

He wished this was the worse dream he'd ever had and that he would wake any moment.

Before he could say anything else, a group of men came into the room. Face recognised some of them as Ables.

Face stood up and watched the men. Some of them were obviously well trained in the medical field and checked Stockwell's condition.

"There's another man outside." Face said.

One of the Able's gave the order and a group of them went outside.

Moments later Murdock and BA returned.

Face noticed the strain on their faces and wondered if he looked as bad. Not that it mattered.

Nothing did right now.

"How's the General's condition?" Carla asked as she entered the room.

The three men looked round to her, watching what happened around them numbly.

One of the Ables said something, the word stable filtered through but none of the team listened to much else.

Face sat down. He felt weak and sick.

He looked up and the other two, tried to assess how they were coping.

BA kept still almost like he were afraid to move too much. Murdock being the almost exact opposite of BA couldn't keep still, even though he didn't really move from where he stood, he was in motion constantly.

"Move them out as soon as possible." Carla said to one of the Ables as she moved across to the team. "General Stockwell and Frankie Santana will be taken to a private medical facility where they will receive medical treatment."

"What about Hannibal?" Face asked.

"That's up to you, Lieutenant. The General has contingency plans for all situations. In this case, Colonel Smith will be offered excellent medical care with some of this country's finest doctors. But whatever happens, you still work for the General. You're not forced to stay here if you don't wish too, but if you go, the Colonel goes with you and a full report will be given to the police. Everything included." She looked at Murdock when she said that.

"It's your decision."

Face noticed he was suddenly the center of attention, as not only Carla stood waiting, but Murdock and BA also looked to him for leadership.

"We need to discuss this privately." He said.

"By all means. I'll be here when you decide." Carla folded her arms across her chest and watched as Face lead the other two into the nearest room out of earshot.

TBC.

Author's Note: Please, please if anyone is going to review this can you not mention who the killer is. Otherwise I'm gonna have to take them off, don't want to ruin the surprise.

Thanks.


	16. Chapter 16

XVI

"So?" BA asked once the door was closed.

"I don't know." Face said. He sat on the bed and covered his eyes with his hands. "I don't want to make this decision."

Murdock moved to the bed and sat on the other side. He was tense and sat rigid as their options whizzed through his mind. "We gotta make sure we make the right decision."

"I can see a downside to whatever we choose." Face said, moving his hands.

"Okay, so let's think about our options. Firstly, we can stay working for Stockwell, if he survives, and Hannibal will be taken care of without any hassle. Secondly, we say to hell with Stockwell and take Hannibal to some place ourselves. I think the only way that's gonna work out is if we leave the country. Then there's the secret third option." Murdock didn't say anything else.

Face looked at him, knew it would be something they didn't really want to hear. "Go on."

"We leave it all behind. Hannibal, Stockwell, the lot."

"Can't just leave Hannibal."

"Just listing the option, big guy, didn't say what we should do." Murdock said. He didn't like any of the options either, but they had to know all the possibilities.

"Well, whatever we decide has got to be right for all of us. If we can't all agree... well, I don't know. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He turned his attention to the mechanic. "BA, what's your answer?"

"We can't just dump Hannibal. He can't be blamed for what he's done."

"So who is to blame?" Murdock challenged.

"Guess we already know your vote, you wanna run." BA said angrily, closing some of the space in between him and Murdock.

"I didn't say that." Murdock said as he stood up. "But don't forget I know more about what Hannibal's thinking right now than you do. And just defending his actions regardless won't help."

"Guys, come on, we gotta stick together." Face said, concern evident. "From what Hannibal said to me, he knew what he was doing, he just... didn't seem to realise it was so wrong."

"He was aware, just didn't think about the consequences." Murdock sat back down again. "We stick with Stockwell." Murdock said. When no one said anything he looked to the other two men. "BA's right, we're not just gonna ditch Hannibal. Even if we took him away from here; it just wouldn't work out."

"BA?"

"Yeah, we gotta stay with it. Work for those pardons."

"I agree." Face said. "We'll have to talk this all out sooner or later. How things are gonna work without him. But for now, we just gotta see that he gets some help."

Face stood and made his way to the door and back out to where Carla was waiting. BA and Murdock flanked him.

She turned to them expectantly, her face gave nothing away.

"We'll stay where we are." Face said.

She smiled ever so slightly. "There's a car waiting for you outside. Colonel Smith is already inside. It will take you to the facility that he'll be treated at, so you can see for yourselves that he will be cared for extremely well."

"After that, will we be able to visit as we like or will we need your permission every time?" Murdock asked a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"It will be limited access at first, Captain, while he settles in and begins treatment. Surely you remember how unsettling it was for you."

"No, I don't." Murdock said coldly, more truth to the statement than she'd ever know.

"Well, after a month or two, dependent on his progress, access when you wish shouldn't be a problem." Carla said.

"C'mon, let's get going." BA said.

The three of them made their way out to the car that awaited.

Ready to see what Hannibal's future held for him.

"Well?" Face asked after viewing the hospital where Hannibal would be treated.

BA shrugged his shoulders.

To him it was a hospital and a white wall and padded cell were all the same.

He really didn't want to think that Hannibal was staying here, and a part of him thought that it was some elaborate plan... but the bodies.

He shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

Face caught the gesture and frowned. "You're not happy?"

"No, man. It's Okay." BA said. "I'm gonna get some fresh air. I'll wait for you outside."

Face nodded his head and watched BA go.

Once BA was out the doors, he turned his attention to Murdock.

The pilot was looking in the direction the mechanic had gone.

They stood in a waiting room that was private and nice, except that people probably came in here to cry after seeing a friend or relative as they'd never seen them before.

Murdock moved away from the door and across to the window. "You think BA's Okay?"

"Are any of us." Face replied.

Murdock turned from the outside world and looked at his friend. "You?"

"Worse day of my life." Face said honestly. He held onto his emotions. There was a better time to deal with them rather than here and now.

Murdock moved to one of the chair and perched on the edge.

Face could see he was restless, a little twitchy. It was too much to really deal with, for all of them.

Although outwardly Face appeared calm, his mind was working overtime. He kept thinking about whether they'd missed some obvious clue to Hannibal's state of mind.

"What'll we do now?" Murdock asked.

"I think we should go see Frankie."

Murdock stood and nodded his approval. He started towards the door.

"Murdock."

The pilot stopped and looked back to where Face was still standing. Murdock automatically walked back further into the room, closing the gap.

"Hannibal told me about Erica. About the baby." Face said, almost gently.

Murdock didn't say anything for a while. "I wasn't gonna say anything." Murdock said, absorbing Face's words.

Silence grew between them again.

A frown appeared on Murdock's face. "It's all such a mess."

"We'll work it out." Face said, stepping closer.

Something flashed across Murdock's features, unreadable. He took a step back.

"We should go see Frankie."

With that he turned and walked away, leaving Face behind.


	17. Chapter 17

XVII

It was late when they returned.

Late and dark and they were turning to a place that was familiar but so cold to them all.

They'd spent a few hours with Frankie and when Face realised they'd all had enough, he'd requested the car that had taken them to the hospital took them all home.

He never knew it could sound like such a dirty word. Home.

It should have conjured up images of families and happiness and all he could see was bodies and a look in his Colonel's eyes he'd never be able to forget.

Murdock practically threw his body onto the couch and Face knew that was where he'd sleep tonight, if he managed to get any rest.

He felt obliged to offer Murdock a room, after all there were two rooms vacant but when the two usual occupants were both in hospital he knew there was no way Murdock would ever accept.

Face grabbed a spare blanket and threw it over the back of the couch, there if Murdock wanted it.

BA was already making his way to his room, not a word spoken between any of them.

Face watched as BA disappeared into one room and he glanced down at Murdock.

He made his way down to his own room, certain none of them would be sleeping tonight.

BA was awoken by the sound of running water.

It took him a few moments to realise it was someone in the shower.

And then he remembered. Everything that happened the day before.

It jolted him awake like no shower ever could.

He didn't feel well rested, knew he'd spend a lot of the night thinking and probably only had a couple of hours sleep all night.

He got out of bed and dressed quickly.

Making his way to the kitchen, he saw Murdock sat in front on the television. The pilot looked round to see who was in the room but made no other gesture to acknowledge the man. BA didn't respond either, just kept going through to the kitchen.

The water from the bathroom soon shut off and Face stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist.

He made his way back to his bedroom.

BA made coffee for Murdock and Face and brought himself a glass of milk in.

He and Murdock sat in silence both of them watching the television.

Murdock took the coffee that BA had left for him and drank a few mouthful's before putting the cup down.

"How do you think Hannibal got on, you know, first night and all?" Murdock asked, looking across to the large man.

BA hadn't really expected to talk about it yet. He knew the pilot would eventually, just not this soon. "I dunno. I don't think he'd have known much of anything last night."

Murdock looked away again. "I guess."

The door to Face's room opened and he came out, not fully dressed and toweling his damp hair, trying to dry it as much as possible.

He'd wanted to greet the others. Just say 'morning' to them but it seemed like he was trying to make things alright when they clearly weren't.

He was about to join the others when the door opened and Carla entered.

Whatever she had to say, Face was certain it wouldn't be good.

Murdock thought the hospital was strange.

From what he could tell it was some sort of private hospital but not an ordinary one. Maybe Stockwell had his own hospital for his operatives that went mad or were seriously injured. There were bound to be plenty of both.

There weren't many people around. Hardly any doctors or nurses walked around.

Murdock tried to recall whether Hannibal's side was the same, but he hadn't paid much attention to the surroundings yesterday, he was too busy watching Hannibal himself.

When they'd arrived with Carla, she'd gone on into Stockwell's room and the rest of them had been left in a room adjacent to it.

They'd been left alone for sometime and all they'd been told was that they were here 'regarding their future'.

Whatever that meant.

Eventually, Carla came out again. "Peck, the General would like to speak to you."

Face looked a little surprised by this and looked at the others.

It was clear to Murdock, and he suspected to BA too, that Stockwell would now treat Face as the leader of the team and that's how it should be.

Face reluctantly got up and made his way towards the room. As he fully entered the room, Carla closed the door behind him, shutting herself out with BA and Murdock.

General Stockwell was resting on the bed, fully dressed which surprised Face somewhat.

He looked healthy enough but there was obviously a lot of weakness still in the man or he'd not be here still.

"lieutenant." Stockwell said, as a greeting. "Carla informs me you've all decided to stay on as my operatives, which is a excellent choice by you."

"It was a decision we all made." Face corrected carefully.

"That won't be an option in the future."

"What do you mean by that?" Face asked concerned.

"Just that you won't always have the luxury of time. You'll have to make split second decisions."

"Right." Face said. He knew that. "While we're on the subject there's a couple of things we need to get straight. You know, we need a few adjustments before we settle in too much."

"What proposals do you have, Lieutenant?"

"Murdock's in. I mean properly, not separated from us, with us all the time." It had always bugged Face that Murdock hadn't been able to see the team as much as he liked. But with recent events, there was no way he was going to allow him to go off alone.

"I expected you to make such a request and given the circumstances I am willing to grant you that request."

Face was certain under different circumstances he'd have quite a lot to say to Stockwell about that comment, but he let it go. "Well, the only other thing that I want from you is that whatever happens you continue to take care of Hannibal's medical needs. Whether we get our pardons or we die trying working for you, you keep him safe."

"I have no qualms about that either, Lieutenant." Stockwell said. "I just have one request to make of you."

Face had been waiting for this. Something more he wanted for them. "Go on." Face said.

"Lead your men."

"What?" Face asked confused.

"Don't think that you can keep things as they are, the shadow of Smith is cast over you all. You have to be decisive and lead them. They trust and respect you, but fail them and they'll doubt you. Be what your Colonel couldn't be."

Face wasn't sure what to say. He'd expected a trap, not advise. "I won't ever let them down."

"It starts now. You have to get them back. Whatever it takes, you have two weeks before I expect you back ready for your first mission."

"Two weeks? Well, where can we go?"

"Where ever it's best for your team. Go now." Stockwell said.

Face left the room, stunned.

They had two weeks to re-group.

His challenge started now.

He hoped he wouldn't disappoint.


	18. Chapter 18

XVIII

"Come on, BA get whatever you need and let's get going." Face said as he carried a bag out to the van.

BA came trudging out of his room, carrying a holdall and grumbled as he walked through the front door.

Murdock sat as he watched the men moving about. He had nothing here to pack and didn't want to go back to his apartment to get anything.

Face came back to the door, looking in at the pilot. "You okay?"

Murdock smiled and nodded his head.

"Come out when you're ready." Face said as he went back to the van.

Murdock sighed and picked up his jacket that lay on the back of the couch. He didn't much fancy a road trip, or whatever this was supposed to be, but he had little choice than to go with the others.

He'd kind of got used to just being alone a lot of the time and now things were changing.

Face had sounded pretty pleased with himself when he'd told Murdock and BA about the deals he'd done with Stockwell and although BA was pleased and Murdock had appeared to be pleased, it was far from the truth.

Murdock loved the time he spent with the team, but he needed his own time too. Strangely enough it kept him sane.

He was always partly convinced that's why he'd cracked in Nam, never able to get enough time alone. Especially the camps.

Everyone assumed that he cracked in camps because of the treatment, the starvation and questioning, but as bad as that was it was his inability to ever be alone that drove him to the brink.

And because he was quieter, they all spoke to him more and more, thinking he was scared or something.

Eventually, withdrawing into himself and blocking the real world out was the only way he could find the alone time he desired.

Of course, it backfired. He couldn't get out of the habit of doing it.

So, how was he supposed to get his much needed alone time when he was with the Face and BA 24 hours a day?

"C'mon, man." BA said, reappearing at the door.

"I'm comin'." Murdock said.

He noticed, not for the first time, that BA had stopped calling him fool.

Just wouldn't be appropriate, would it?

BA hadn't said much to Face's plan's for vacation.

The plan was pretty non-specific, but Face said a rough plan with no set boundaries would work better for them.

BA couldn't tell how Murdock felt about things as he'd stayed pretty quiet the last few days, but he knew that it all felt very uncomfortable to him.

Here they were out, supposed to be enjoying themselves, when Hannibal was in a nut house, Frankie was in hospital and two women were dead.

BA knew Face was just as lost as himself and Murdock, but obviously he was trying to bring them back together, this just didn't seem to be the right way to do it.

Not that BA had the answers himself.

Things were messy and complicated and it would take a long time to sort through everything.

Problem was, no one was speaking about it.

Face hoped this was the best thing to do.

He was following Stockwell's instructions, taking the guys away from their normal surroundings and give them the chance to adjust without other issues pressuring them, but doing that, what Stockwell asked, just seemed wrong.

He wasn't sure how he felt being the one to take orders from Stockwell and having to dish them out to BA and Murdock.

Of course, he'd given them orders before but never for long, just temporarily. Until Hannibal got back.

In many ways it was the same now.

He just had a feeling that Hannibal would never get back.

The three of them sat at the diner, awaiting their meals to be brought to them.

It was quiet inside, only one waitress cleaning tables and someone in the kitchen they couldn't see.

Face wanted to talk to them. He hoped he'd be able to discuss things in a motel when they were resting, but he was getting apprehensive. Things were too quiet and he wanted to make sure they were all at the same place in terms of what they needed to do.

"Look guys, I've been thinking a lot about what we're going to do and I thought now would be a good time to go through it all. I know it's going to be strange at first without Hannibal, but I think like all those other times when he's not been there, we'll be okay."

He got little response from the others so decided to continue.

"I think everything will be hard for a while. We'll have to adjust to being a man down. I'm not sure what's going to happen with Frankie, but possibly with two men down that will use up a big part of our resources on missions. We'll all have to double the amount of work we're doing. Of course, we will have Stockwell to fall back on, he'll be able to offer any help we may need."

"Is that what he said?" Murdock asked.

"Well no, but I think he's being pretty fair, with what he's doing for us and Hannibal."

Murdock let out a half snort, half laugh.

"What?" Face said.

"Stockwell and fair don't usually go together in a sentence."

"Oh, come on, Murdock, you weren't in there."

"No, but if I had been I wouldn't have fallen for any of his bullshit."

"That's what you think? That I was suckered in?" Face said, shocked.

"Yeah. That's what I think."

"Decision making isn't up to you." Face replied hotly.

"No, that's Stockwell's department, isn't it?" Murdock snapped back.

"Well you should know. You're the one with a history with the guy."

Murdock stood up abruptly.

For a split second, BA thought things would turn physical but the pilot turned and left the diner.

Face kept his eyes on Murdock and after a minute or two, he got up too. "Be right back." he said to BA.

BA sighed as he watched Face go over to where Murdock stood outside and watched as the two continued their dispute.

He wouldn't interfere, unless things got out of hand

"Murdock, what the hell's your problem?"

Murdock didn't look round to Face, he just kept his back to him, knew it would frustrate him. "You. Your my problem."

"So tell me then."

Murdock turned to look at Face now. "You wanna know? Fine, it's the way you're already kissing up to Stockwell. Hannibal never let us be led by him and here you are ready to do whatever he says. You're talking about all the ways he's gonna help us and a few months back you walked on us because of him. I don't understand you."

"Okay, you wanna know why I'm listening to him? It's because I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make these decisions. I've never given orders and the thing that scares me the most is I'll get you or BA killed because I don't know how to lead you. That's why I'm listening to Stockwell."

Murdock started walking, away from the diner and Face.

Face watched. Didn't follow, just watched.

The pilot walked up to where the road ran past the diner and stopped, looking out past the few cars that traveled down the road.

Face felt a tinge of disappointment within himself.

This was really the first test he'd had as leader and it hadn't gone well.

He should have left Murdock to cool off, not followed him. He'd just managed to push him further away.

And BA had witnessed the whole thing.

Resigned to the fact that he'd get no further with Murdock right now, we returned back to the diner.

Murdock could feel his eyes still on him. He knew he'd left and gone back to join BA, but he knew he was still being watched.

He'd over-reacted, knew that most of what had come out of his mouth was frustration with the situation, not with Face.

He'd make sure that Face knew that later on. Knew that having an argument with him the last thing Face needed right now.

Murdock felt a sudden rush of adrenaline as a police car pulled into the dusty car park.

Although it was rare these days for them to have the MP's or police after them, there was always the risk.

Knowing that if they were recognised they may have to move out quickly, Murdock began to make his way back to the diner, hoping he looked casual.

The police car pulled up in front of the diner and Murdock watched as Face and BA looked the opposite way, hoping to avoid detection.

By the time Murdock reached the diner, the two police officers were getting out of their car. They smiled at Murdock, letting him go ahead of them. He returned the smile with a small nod of his head.

He wondered if he'd be able to distract them long enough for BA and Face to slip out to the van.

"Hey pal, you got a light?" One of the officers asked, tapping Murdock on the shoulder.

"Er, yeah." He stopped before he made his way inside. He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out the lighter. "Here you go." Murdock said.

"You're a lifesaver." He said, reaching for his cigarettes.

Instead he pulled out a gun.

"Now don't move a muscle, or you're dead. Cuff 'im."

"Wh-what are you doing?" Murdock asked fear gripping him.

"You dumb shit. You think you can just kill innocent women. Your mugs all over the news, pal and you're just standing around waiting for us to pick you up."

"I think a few ladies will sleep a little easier tonight knowing a sick bastard like you's locked up."

"General, I have some good news." Carla said as she walked into the hospital room.

The General looked at the woman, expectantly.

She tuned on the television in the room, and inserted a video cassette into the player. "The latest on Santana's condition is it's unlikely he'll ever walk again. But, I think you'll enjoy what's on this tape a lot more than that good fortune"

Stockwell watched the news coverage of a mans arrest for double murder.

He smiled.

No longer did he have Captain Murdock to worry about. Him or the information he had access to.

Now he could truly do things _his _way.

Who could stop him now?

The End

Author's Note:

Yes, that's it! Sorry to leave you all kinda high and dry, but I am planning a sequel. Hope to get some question cleared up in that bit. Wish me luck and thanks for reading.

Therm.


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